Hot Chip to play two shows in LA's Wiltern theater

By VANESSA FRANKO? The Press-Enterprise? PDT on Thursday, September 18, 2008
Hot Chip has been hotter than a Buster Poindexter-inspired conga line this year.

The electro dance rock band's return trip to the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in Indio in April packed a tent full of sweaty, dancing people, the group just recorded with Peter Gabriel and now Hot Chip is select slate of U.S. dates, hitting Los Angeles Sunday and Monday.

"This year has been pretty surreal," singer Alexis Taylor said in a recent telephone interview. Hot Chip recently collaborated with Gabriel on a cover of Vampire Weekend's "Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa," at the fellow buzz band's request. Taylor, who also has a solo album coming out, also had a chance to work with some of his favorite artists, including British artists Robert Wyatt, Wiley and Scritti Politti.

With the rise of dance rock, Hot Chip gained notice in the United Kingdom in 2006 when album "The Warning" was nominated for the prestigious Mercury Music Prize. The band has gained big buzz playing festivals in Europe and has played Coachella in 2007 and 2008.

But for now, Taylor and his cohorts are focused on the live show. Hot Chip brought in a live drummer, Leo Taylor, for this leg of the tour. "I think we just fancied a change," Alexis Taylor said. The band has played the US before with live drummer Pat Mahoney of dance rockers LCD Soundsystem. Replacing the bloops and snaps and blips gives the band more depth live.

"We wanted to develop the songs a bit and take them to different places," Taylor said. While on tour, the band is also working on some songs for Hot Chip's follow up to this year's "Made in the Dark," complete with Taylor's portable Casio keyboard along for a songwriting ride.

Reach Vanessa Franko at 951-368-9575, vfranko@PE.com, www.myspace.com/Audio_File or www.PE.com/blogs/music

Hot Chip
When: 9 p.m. Sunday and Monday
Where: The Wiltern, 3790 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles
Admission: $27 in advance, $29 at the show
Information: 213-388-1400
On the Web: www.hotchip.co.uk